Dow Plummets 617 points after China Hits U.S

Juan Mendoza

The U.S. Trade Representative's office also said it planned to hold a public hearing next month on the possibility of imposing duties of up to 25% on a further $300 billion worth of imports from China. The dollar rose and Treasuries fell.

Of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, all but utilities were in the black. Boeing shares declined 4.9% amid speculation the airplane maker could be singled out by China in the trade war. Caterpillar shares gained 1.7%.

On Monday evening, Trump gave an estimate of when a breakthrough in negotiations with China could be announced. "With the re-escalation of tariff war risks (and China vowed to retaliate), it is challenging to reach an agreement very soon".

After announcing the higher tariffs, the editor of Communist Party-owned Chinese newspaper Global Times warned Beijing could also hit the USA by offloading Treasuries, ending USA agricultural purchases and reducing orders for Boeing airplanes. West Texas crude rose above $61 a barrel. "When the time is right we will make a deal with China", he said, and cited his "unlimited" respect for and friendship with China's leader. This comes after President Donald Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports last week.

Signs emerged Tuesday Trump had pressed the trade battle far enough. The president also stated that China had a "great deal" nearly finished but then they "backed out".

"We're going to have to be nimble with our portfolios", said Meghan Shue, senior investment strategist at Wilmington Trust, which reduced investments in USA large-cap stocks and emerging markets and boosted cash holdings in response to Friday's tariff increase.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 54 points, or 0.2%, to 26,023, the S&P 500 rose 7 points, or 0.2%, to 2,891, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 22 points, or 0.3%, to 7,991. Technology stocks posted the largest percentage gains, climbing 1.6 per cent.

The best-performing sector is S&P/ASX A-REIT, losing 0.3 per cent, while the worst performing sector is S&P/ASX Financials, shedding 2.2 per cent.

Among the big banks, ANZ was up 19 cents, or 0.73 per cent, to $26.29 while the other three didn't move much.

The benchmark S&P-ASX200 index closed up 44.3 points, or 0.71 per cent, to 6,284.2 points on Wednesday, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 43.7 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 6,370.9.

Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 0.3 per cent. The common currency had dipped almost 0.2% the previous day after Italy's deputy prime minister said the country is ready to break European Union budget rules on debt levels if necessary to spur employment.

The dollar dropped 0.1% against the yen to 109.20.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell four basis points to 2.37%, the lowest in seven weeks.

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